1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to digital image correction, and particularly to correction of eye artifacts due to flash exposure.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,873,743 to Steinberg, which is hereby incorporated by reference, discloses an automatic, red-eye detection and correction system for digital images including a red-eye detector module that determines without user intervention if a red-eye defect exists. If a defect is located in an image the portion of the image surrounding the defect is passed to a correction module that de-saturates the red components of the defect while preserving the other color characteristics of the defect region.
WO03/071484, Pixology, discloses a method of detecting red-eye features in a digital image comprising identifying highlight i.e. glint regions of the image having pixels with a substantially red hue and higher saturation and lightness values than pixels in the regions therearound. In addition, pupil regions comprising two saturation peaks either side of a saturation trough may be identified. It is then determined whether each highlight or pupil region corresponds to part of a red-eye feature on the basis of further selection criteria, which may include determining whether there is an isolated, substantially circular area of correctable pixels around a reference pixel. Correction of red-eye features involves reducing the lightness and/or saturation of some or all of the pixels in the red-eye feature.
In many cases, the eye-artifact that is caused by the use of flash is more complex than a mere combination of red color and a highlight glint. Such artifacts can take the form of a complex pattern of hybrid portions that are red and other portions that are yellow, golden, white or a combination thereof. One example includes the case when the subject does not look directly at the camera when a flash photograph is taken. Light from the flash hits the eye-ball at an angle which may provoke reflections different than retro-reflection, that are white or golden color. Other cases include subjects that may be wearing contact lenses or subjects wearing eye glasses that diffract some portions of the light differently than others. In addition, the location of the flash relative to the lens, e.g. under the lens, may exacerbate a split discoloration of the eyes.